Ukraine's parliament approves Sybiha as Kuleba's successor

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Ukraine's parliament on Sept. 5 approved Andrii Sybiha as the new foreign minister after the resignation of the previous top diplomat, Dmytro Kuleba.

Sybiha is a career diplomat who served as Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey in 2016-2019. He joined President Volodymyr Zelensky's administration as deputy chief of staff in 2021 and was transferred to the Foreign Ministry in April this year.

The resignation of Kuleba, who held the ministerial office since 2020, was approved by the parliament earlier on Sept. 5. A source close to the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent that Kuleba "wanted out."

The change came amid a broader government reshuffle which saw many other ministers and deputy prime ministers leave and change posts.

"We need new energy today. And these steps (reshuffle) are only related to strengthening our state in various sectors. International politics and diplomacy are no exception," Zelensky said.

"I cannot predict today what exactly some ministers will do. The answers will come when they are offered certain positions."

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The Kyiv IndependentChris York